Introduction

Abstract

The fuels and energy consumption worldwide has continued to increase due to increased standards of living and increased population. With the continuous depletion in hydrocarbon fuel reserves from growing demands on energy, it is important to develop new and novel technologies to reduce energy cost, improve efficiency, and reduce pollution from the existing energy utilization systems. The energy use, power generation , and propulsion pose direct impact on the environment with subsequent effects on local and global climate. Therefore, one must focus on efficient and sustainable “green” energy production from conventional and alternative energy sources and develop technologies for a range of applications from micro to mega scale. Although the air toxins from power plants have continued to decrease over the past few decades, CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere continues to grow, and CO₂ emissions remain a big challenge due to ever increasing demands on chemical energy.